Dry forests (aspen, jack pine, etc.), fields, roadsides, rocky ground; clearings and borders of forests, upper shores; gravel pits and other disturbed ground; frequently in rather wet places; as the common name suggests, thrives in burned-over areas, blooming in profusion as soon as three months after a spring fire.

Rare white-flowered plants are at least as handsome as the normal pink ones and may be expected anywhere; they have been collected in Emmet, Marquette, and Keweenaw Cos.

Sennikov (2011) argues convincingly that Chamaenerion should be the correct genus, not Chamerion.